The X Files: Fight the Future

The X Files, the TV series, reflects a phenomenon
that points to the very heart and nature of America: a strong sense of
individualism combined with a deep (and healthy) distrust of
authority. While these aspects are present in only a minority of the
populace, I believe a large percentage also identify with them. As
Chris Carter, the series creator, said "it goes as far back as the
Boston Tea Party in a sense." Like in The Truman Show, The X
Files attempts to show how most of society is manipulated by
our public servants.

Analysts of the television show have said that people relate to it
because conspiracies provide explanations and answers to real world
questions. I personally look at the messages in the show as warnings
about what has happened or could potentially happen in the real world
when you trust authority without questioning it (or anyone
else---"trust no one" is a catch-phrased used commonly in The X
Files).

While the sinister-paranoid aspect of the TV show is present in
the movie, it is relegated to the background. Instead what we have is
an intelligent and thought-provoking film combined with a bit of
action. Intelligent and thought-provoking probably only to fans of
the The X Files show, as it tries mainly to clarify and
confirm what fans have long suspected, and present a coherent picture
of "The Conspiracy".

The basic premise of The X Files: Fight the Future is
actually the least intriguing part of the plot: an anonymous caller
warns about a bomb in a federal building in Dallas. While FBI agents
scour the building, Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) believes the
bomb is in an another building nearby and, together with Agent Dana
Scully (Gillian Anderson), he investigates and finds the bomb in a
vending machine. As Scully barks orders to evacuate the building,
Special Agent Darius Michaud (Millennium's Terry O'Quinn)
orders Mulder out. As Mulder and Scully escape, the building blows up.

An inquiry is held and Mulder and Scully end up as scapegoats for
the loss of five lives $45 million in property, instead of being
hailed as heroes for finding the bomb in the first place. Besides the
presence of agent Michaud, the building was thought to be completely
empty. This sets a convenient stage for the entrance of Dr. Alvin
Kurtzweil (Martin Laundau), a friend of Mulder's father, who shares
with Mulder knowledge of a conspiracy to hide the truth about the
bombing.

Mulder and Scully, upon further investigation, find that the four
other people, from North Texas, were actually killed by the alien
virus, "black ooze" that has been present on the planet since at least
35,000 B.C. The Elders, powerful men in various governments across the
world, have conspired with this alien species to remake Earth as a
colony for the aliens, with the humans as the subservient
species. However, when they learn of the killings in North Texas, they
realise that colonisation is not the goal of the aliens, but instead
the extermination of the human species.

The Elders' hands are tied because they are still in the process
of secretly developing an antidote/vaccine (a vaccine alone would not
treat a disease after it has been acquired) while aiding the aliens in
colonising the Earth through the use of bees with virulent stings and
transgenic corn containing the alien DNA (for the first time, a goal
of the Elders/Syndicate is alluded to be a benevolent one). They also
see Mulder as a threat to them but cannot execute him because that
would make him a martyr. They decide to remove someone close to him
and somehow manage to arrange it so Scully is kidnapped after being
stung by one of the bees (which travelled with her all the way from
Texas) carrying the alien virus.

However, the Well-Manicured Man (John Neville), his conscience
bothered by new threat posed by the alien life form to his
grand-children, gives a vial of weak antidote/vaccine to Mulder and
points to Scully's location. Mulder travels to Antarctica and finds
the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) in charge of an operation
involving a large number of humans infected with the alien virus, one
of whom is Scully. As he administers the antidote/vaccine to Scully,
it contaminates the network of aliens and creates a shutdown of the
process. Mulder and Scully escape as the aliens awake from their
stasis and the entire "operation", which is really a spaceship, flies
off into the sky. This is the part of the movie that raises the
biggest question: if the Cigarette Smoking Man is aware of the true
nature of the alien "colonisation", then why does he continue to help
them and why has he not informed the Elders? If the Elders are unaware
of the existence of the Antarctic space ship, how did the
Well-Manicured Man know?

One explanation is that the Syndicate does know what the Cigarette
Smoking Man is doing. The story would essentially be as follows: the
aliens have struck a deal with the Syndicate and have given them the
black ooze which will allow them to control/enslave the human
population. The Cigarette Smoking Man is entrusted to experiment on
human-alien hybrids in Anarctica to determine the parametres for the
colonisation to occur smoothly (on people like Scully, for example,
thus providing a motivation for keeping her alive.). The bees and
corn are part of this experiment. The primoridial ooze in Texas is a
mutation of the alien from the past that kills. It warns the Syndicate
that the alien life form can be deadly and their true intentions might
not be mind control but total destruction of humans.

Another explanation is that the Syndicate thought that the humans
infected on the space ship were in stasis until they could be inserted
into the population to become drones. In other words, the alien black
ooze can either take over a person or it can use it for din-din. But
when the black ooze from the past gave the game away, the aliens in
the space ship decided to gestate and eliminate the human
population. However Mulder came along during the gestation period and
wreaked havoc with the antitode/vaccine, which caused the invaders to
leave, thus saving the day. How's that for a neat ending?

There are plenty of other problems with the plot, many of which
can be rationalised only with the show's modus operandi in
mind: Why was the X Files shut down? (Rationale: all the files were
burnt in the season finale preceding this movie.) Who called in the
bomb threat and why, if the purpose of the bomb was to destroy the
bodies killed by the alien ooze? (Rationale: Kurtzweil did, since he
knew about the bodies, but his call was deliberately misdirected by
Michaud.) Why were Scully and Mulder blamed for the bombing when they
should have been thanked for saving lives? (Rationale: the FBI wanted
scapegoats and they received orders from higher up to place the blame
on the two agents so they could be separated.) How could the child and
the firemen killed by the alien ooze end up in a building allegedly
attacked by terrorists? (Rationale: The Federal Emergency Management
Authority, an arm of the Syndicate with the power to do away with
constitutional rights in the event of a national emergency, took
charge of the bodies by stating that it was the Hanta virus that was
responsible for the deaths.) How could the bee that stung Scully have
chosen that time and place, and how could Mulder's subsequent 911 call
be intercepted knowing that Scully would be stung by a bee?
(Rationale: this indicates the powerful nature of the Syndicate ("who
know Dallas", a reference to the Cigarette Smoking Man's hand in the
killing of John F. Kennedy).) Why was Mulder only injured when the
ambulance driver shot him? (Rationale: Mulder was being an annoyance
and a message had to be sent without killing him, or it was a geniune
miss.) As Mulder arrives in Antarctica, the gas gauge in his
snowmobile is empty. But yet he makes it back to civilisation after
the alien spaceship takes off; how could this be? (Rationale: The
Lone Gunmen help him out.) What convinced the FBI to re-open the X
Files in the end? (Rationale: Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch
Pileggi) helped convince the inquiry that it would be the wisest
course of action.)

There are plenty of unanswered questions in relation to the series
(including the clones, the aliens with toxic green ooze which change
shape, the chip in the back of Scully's neck responsible for her
cancer, Mulder's sister, the relationship between Cigarette Smoking
Man and Mulder, the enigmatic Krycek, etc.), but I expect time
constraints would make it impossible to address all issues (besides
that's what the next seasons are for). I think a wise choice was made
in focusing only on the black ooze aliens even though it is not
entirely consistent with the series story line.

The main thing the movie provides for fans of the show are
constant references to the show, and the purpose of the Syndicate/the
Elders is finally spelled out explicitly (even though it could've been
guessed from the show). People who are not fans of The X
Files will probably not consider this movie to be anything
spectacular, unless they have a special interest in science fiction
and some tolerance for unexplained plots. Such people will not
understand the Cigarette Smoking Man, Skinner's relationship to Mulder
and Scully, the Elders, the Lone Gunmen, and even the significance of
the black ooze, the bees and the transgenic corn. Further the presence
of characters like Michael Kritschgau, a character from past episodes,
that even hardcore fans will have a difficult time rationalising, only
obfuscate the issues for the average viewer.

There is a lot of camp and humour in the movie at least initially
which works well to endear fans and non-fans alike to the movie (a
scene which included the Independence Day poster was a
classic). As the situation gets serious, the humour appropriately
diminishes, but it was good to see Scully not looking completely
sombre all the time.

The score has its moments. But yet it is vastly underdeveloped and
under used. In general, the theme should have been present more
prominently, and variations of the theme should have been used to
render suspense and fill in awkward moments of silence. The references
to Star Wars and Alien (in the final scenes) I thought
were pretty cool. The dialogue between Mulder and Scully (when
Scully first wants to leave and then when Mulder wants to leave at the
end) is awkward and strained, though their affection for each other
comes off as being genuine.

I cannot believe I am thinking so much about the show. I rarely
think much of TV shows, but this is a show that has made me think a
lot not only about philosophical connections to the real world, but
also about the show. It should be kept in mind that
The X Files doesn't offer complete or even consistent
explanations, but I think that's the appeal: it forces you
to fill in the gaps and create your own story. That surely must
represent a refreshing change from being a passive viewer.

As some critics have said, the movie is just a long episode, and
there have been better episodes. Still, I think The X Files:
Fight the Future is the movie of the summer, and is
one of the best movies I've seen. I can't wait to see what they come
up with in Season Six.